The west may be as good as gone in Bosnia. After two years of a virtual standoff, the protagonists have started a major shooting war that could cause the international community to withdraw its troops. As the largely Muslim government army launched its most aggressive offensive ever last week, U.N. soldiers stood by while government and Serb forces emptied the dozens of heavy-weapons collection points around Sarajevo. The peacekeepers then waited nervously for the Bosnian Croats to join the fight. Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the G-7 leaders of the major industrial democracies seemed less interested in Bosnia than in developing an early-warning system for economic calamities like Mexico. The group did agree to help finance the rapid reaction force-10,000 British, French and Dutch troops to support U.N. forces-by perhaps passing the cup to wealthy nations, including the gulf states. But NATO seemed to be thinking pullout, not buildup. "The minute the Croats join the fight," says a senior NATO source, "the rapid reaction force will be deployed and provide the shield to pull out U.N. units."
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